Vehicle passenger counter apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for counting the number of passengers occupying a seat, as in a taxicab, includes a tension member having one end vertically movable with a resilient passenger supporting surface, and its other end secured, by means of a lost-motion tension connection to an element resiliently biased in the opposite direction so that the flexible tension member is in tension when the seat is unoccupied and the resiliently biased element is movable away from the seat when the seat is occupied and the tension member is relaxed, the resiliently biased member having a lost-motion connection to the input lever of a counter to move the same in one direction responsive to its biasing means, and in the opposite direction responsive to the application of tension to the tension member, and means for slowing movements of the resiliently biased member irrespective of the rate of movement of the tension member.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Terrell L. Heath Box 21,Waynesville, Mo. 65583; Larry E. Van Hooser, 669 Clark, Lebanon, Mo.65536 [21] Appl. No. 113,506 [22] Filed Feb. 8, 1971 [45] Patented Jan.11, 1972 [54] VEHICLE PASSENGER COUNTER APPARATUS 16 Claims, 5 DrawingFigs.

[52] US. Cl 235/30 A [51] Int. Cl ....G07b 13/00 [50] Field ofSearch235/30 R, 30 A, 91 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,530,861 11/1950 Coleman et al 235/30 A 3,111,185 11/1963 Butler235/30R 3,325,097 6/1967 Slutsky 235/30 R 3,386,651 6/1968 Wallquist235/30 R Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson AssistantExaminer-Stanley A. Wal Attorney- Bedell and Burgess ABSTRACT: Apparatusfor counting the number of passengers occupying a seat, as in a taxicab,includes a tension member having one end vertically movable with aresilient passenger supporting surface, and its other end secured, bymeans of a lost-motion tension connection to an element resilientlybiased in the opposite direction so that the flexible tension member isin tension when the seat is unoccupied and the resiliently biasedelement is movable away from the seat when the seat is occupied and thetension member is relaxed, the resiliently biased member having alost-motion connection to the input lever of a counter to move the samein one direction responsive to its biasing means, and in the oppositedirection responsive to the application of tension to the tensionmember, and means for slowing movements of the resiliently biased memberirrespective of the rate of movement of the tension member.

PATENTEB JAN] 1 I972 SHEET 2 BF 2 TERREZL Y m A L VEHICLE PASSENGERCOUNTER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention Theinvention relates to automatic counting apparatus and consistsparticularly in apparatus responsive to seat occupancy, for counting thenumber of persons occupying a seat, such as that of a taxicab or otherpublic conveyance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides automatic means beyondthe control of the driver or operator of a taxicab or the like to countthe number of passengers occupying a seat during a given period.

The means provided to this end are relatively inexpensive, compact andtamper proof, and are actuated only by actual occupation of the seat fora substantial period and not by an instantaneous depression of the seat,as for example by a passenger moving across it to another seat.

. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an environmental sideelevational view of the apparatus, with a vehicle seat partially brokenaway to show the seat responsive actuator.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the counter device, with the housing coverpartially broken away to show details of the device.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view along line 3- 3 of FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a rear end elevational view of the housing with the counterdial cover closed.

FIG. 5 is a rear end elevational view of the housing with the counterdial cover open to expose the counter dial.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As best seen in FIG. 1, theinvention is applied to an automobile seat cushion 1 containingvertically acting compression springs, as shown at 3, bearing upwardlyagainst the cushion top and biasing the same upwardly, and beingsubstantially compressible when the cushion is occupied by a seatedpassenger.

The counter apparatus includes a boxlike housing 5, preferably mountedrearwardly of seat cushion 1, and having a bottom wall 6 and forwardvertical end wall 7 centrally apertured near its bottom margin, as at 9.

A flexible tension member, preferably wire 11 is connected at its oneend to the top of seat cushion l, and extends downwardly therefrom andunder sheave 13, rotatably mounted in a fixed bracket 15 on the seatbottom B, and thence, via a suitably curved tubular casing 17, to andthrough aperture 9 in housing front wall 7.

The interior arrangement of housing 5 is seen in detail in FIGS. 3 and4.

A connector plate 21 of isosceles trapezoidal shape in plan, and havingits parallel forward and rear margins upturned to form flanges 23 and25, respectively, is connected by forward flange 23 to the rear end ofwire 11 which is maintained taut by a coil spring 27 compressed betweenthe forward wall 7 of housing 5 and screw clamp 29 on wire 11, inwardlyof wall 7.

The connection of wire 11 to flange 23 comprises a hole 31 in the centerof the flange, through which the wire passes, and a screw clamp 33 orother fixed abutment on the wire rearwardly of the flange, forming alost-motion connection such that rearward movement of the wire,responsive to a passenger sitting on the seat, will free connector plate21 to move rearwardly, while forward movement of wire 11, responsive toa passenger rising from the seat, will cause wire 11 to pull plate 21forwardly.

Plate 21 is biased rearwardly toward the solid line portion of plate 21in FIGS. 2 and 3 by a pair of transversely spaced, longitudinallyextending coil springs 35, secured at their forward ends to rear flange25 of plate 23 and anchored at their rear ends to an upstandingtransverse wall 37 extending across the rear portion of housing bottomwall 6. Springs 35 have a somewhat lower rate than seat spring 3, sothat the latter normally maintains plate 21 in the forward (broken line)position whenthe seat is unoccupied.

A counter 39 is mounted on the central portion of the rear surface ofwall 37, with its face projecting rearwardly, and has an input lever 41projecting from one side. The counter is of the reciprocating type,i.e., requires movement of the input lever in both directions to advanceone count.

For providing the necessary reciprocating actuation to lever 41, alongitudinally extending rod 43 is pivotally connected at its rear endat 45 to lever 41, and its forward end passes through a hole inconnector plate rear flange 25. Since the angular movement of counterlever 41 is relatively small compared to the linear movement ofconnector plate 21, a lost motion connection, comprising a pair ofspaced screw clamps 47 and 49 are mounted on rod 43 on opposite sides ofconnector plate rear flange 25.

From the foregoing it will be evident that, when seat 1 is unoccupied,spring 3 will cause wire 11, acting through clamp 33, to hold connectorplate 23 at the forward (broken line) position of FIG. 2, in whichflange 25 engages forward clamp 49 on rod 43 and holds counter lever 41in its forward position, and that when a passenger occupies seat 1,compressing spring 3 and releasing wire 11, spring 27 will urge wire 11rearwardly, permitting springs 25 to pull connector plate 21 rearwardlyso that after some rearward movement, flange 25 will engage clamp 47 onrod 43, pushing rod 43 rearwardly and causing an accompanying rearwardmovement of lever 41, and thereby registering one-half count on counter39. When the passenger arises from seat 1, spring 3 pulls wire 11forward, causing clamp 33 to exert a corresponding pull through flange23 on plate 21, so that after some forward movement, rear flange 25engages forward clamp 49, pulling rod 43 forward, causing anaccompanying forward movement on counter lever 41, thereby registeringthe additional halfcount on the counter, to complete a full count.

To limit the rearward movement of rod 43, a screw clamp 51 is secured torod 43 a short distance forward of transverse wall 37, for abuttingrelation therewith when the rearward limit of counter lever movement isreached, and to hold rod 43, and lever 41, in their extreme forward andrear positions during lost motion of connector plate 21, a generally U-shaped spring wire clip 53 is secured to rod 43 by a screw clamp 55,with the legs of the clip extending generally parallel to rod 43.Intermediate the ends of housing 5 and slightly rearwardly of the rearposition of connector plate 21, a second upstanding transverse wall 57is provided on bottom wall 6, wall 57 being perforated to permit theuninterrupted passage therethrough of springs 35, rod 43 and onestraight leg 59 of clip 53. The other leg 61 of clip 53 also passesthrough a small hole in wall 57 and is formed intermediate its ends witha shallow generally V-shaped offset 62 with its forward slope engageablewith wall 57 when lever 41 is in its rear position and with its rearslope engageable with wall 57 when lever 41 is in its forward position.

To prevent the registration of a count on counter 39 when seat cushion 1is momentarily depressed, as by a passenger sitting on it for an instantwhile moving to another seat, a time delay device, which may includelongitudinally extending hydraulic cylinder 63, mounted on transversewall 57 between springs 35 by nut 65, and connected by piston rod 67 torear flange 25of connector plate 21. At its end cylinder 63 communicatesrespectively with valves 69 and 71, which are connected to each other byexternal conduit 73. It will be evident that, as piston 75 is movedlengthwise in cylinder 63 by piston rod 67, it will force fluid throughvalves 69 and 71 and conduit 73, so that by regulating valves 69 and 71the rate of flow through them can be controlled and the velocity ofpiston 75, its rod 67 and connector plate 21 can be maintained at aslow, constant, value, irrespective of the speed at which the seatspring is depressed and released.

Preferably, housing 5 has continuous flanges including upstandingflanges 81 along the side margins of bottom wall 6, rearward flanges 83along the side margins of forward wall 7 and a rearward flange 85 alongthe top margin of forward wall 7.

A cover, consisting of horizontal top wall 89, spaced vertical sidewalls91 and vertical rear wall 93 with a forwardly directed flange 94 alongits lower rim is arranged for nesting relation with respect to bottomwall 6, front wall 7 and their marginal flanges 81, 83 and 85, and canbe locked in closed position by a key-controlled lock 95 mounted on endwall 93 and having a rotatable latch member 97 selectively lockinglyengageable with the forward surface of transverse wall 37 anddisengageable therefrom by turning key 99.

Rear wall 93 also has a small aperture 100 in registry with the face 101of counter 39 to permit reading of the counter without removal ofhousing cover 89, 91, 93. However, to prevent unauthorized reading ofthe counter, a flap 105 is connected to bottom wall 6 by hinge 107 alongthe bottom margin of the rear wall 93 and, when closed, covers counterface aperture 100. For locking it in closed position, flap 105 has aninwardly extending notched tab 109 on its inner surface adjacent itsupper margin, and rear wall 93 is slotted at 111 to permit tab 109 toproject inwardly therethrough. A second key-actuated lock 113, mountedin wall 93 adjacent lock 95 has a rotatable latch member 113 receivablein notch 110 of tab 109 to lock flap 105 closed, and movable out ofnotch 110 by rotation of the key to open the flap.

Operation of the apparatus is as follows: When a passenger boards ataxicab equipped with the apparatus, if he temporarily lowers himselfonto a first seat enroute to a permanent seat, spring 27 of theapparatus connected to the first seat will cause wire 11 to moverearwardly, freeing connector plate 21 to be pulled rearwardly bysprings 35. However, any initial rearward movement of plate 21 is nottransmitted to rod 43 and counter lever 41, because of the lost-motionconnection (clamps 47) between flange 25 and rod 43, and such initialmovement is sufficiently slowed by the delaying action of the time delaydevice, cylinder 63, piston 75, piston rod 67, valves 69 and 71 andconduit 73, that any such temporary seat occupancy will not register onthe counter, and when the passenger rises to move to his permanent seat,seat spring 3 will return wire 11 to its forward position.

When the passenger moves to his permanent seat, compressing spring 3thereunder, the associated spring 27 will pull wire 11 rearwardly,causing clamp 33 to free connector plate 21 for rearward movement.Because of the slowing action of the time delay device on connectorplate 21, a predetermined period will elapse before flange 25 engagesclamp 47 on rod 43 to move rod 43, yieldingly held in forward positionby clip 53, and counter lever 41 toward rear position, thus effecting ahalf-count on the counter. If the passenger temporarily rises from theseat for an instant, even though spring 27 will pull forwardly on wire11, such movement will be resisted by the time delay device and when thepassenger reseats himself, the cycle will continue. When the passengerfinally arises from the seat to disembark from the taxicab, leaving theseat vacated, and spring 3 exerts a forward pull on wire 11, the latterwill eventually overcome the retarding effect of the time-delay means,causing flange 25 to engage clamp 49 on rod 43 and move the latter andwith it counter lever 41 forwardly to complete the count.

The details of the apparatus described herein may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of suchmodifications as come within the scope of the appended claims iscontemplated.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for counting successive occupants of a seat comprising atension member relieved of tension responsive to occupancy of the seatand placed in tension responsive to vacating of the seat, a connectorelement, a lost-motion tension connection between said member and saidelement, a counter device, input means on said counter device causingone-half count per input movement in each direction, a furtherconnection between said input means and said connector element, springmeans biasing said connector element into tensile relation with saidfirst named lost-motion connection, but being of insufficient strengthto overcome tension applied to said tension element by the seat, wherebywhen the seat becomes occupied, said spring means moves said connectorelement. which causes movement of said further connection to move saidcounter device input means in the same direction to register one-halfcount on said counter device. and when the seat becomes vacated saidtension element is placed in tension, causing said tension lost motionconnection to become operative to move said connector element in theopposite direction, which causes movement of said device input means inthe same opposite direction and thereby register another one-half counton said counter device.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for slowing operationof said connector element in both directions whereby to make itsmovements nonresponsive to the application of tension to and removal oftension from said tension member when said seat is occupied onlytemporarily.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said slowing means comprises acylinder, a piston therein, means connecting said piston to saidconnector element, fluid in said cylinder on both sides of said piston,and reduced diameter passage means connecting the portions of saidcylinder on opposite sides of said piston.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said passage means containsvalve means for manually regulating its size whereby to controlprecisely the rate of movement of said piston.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said further connectionbetween said connector element and said counter device input meansincludes a double-acting lost-motion connection whereby only the endportions of movements of said connector element are transmitted by saidfurther connection to said input means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said further connection is arodlike member elongated in the same direction as that of the movementof said connector element and said connector element has a portiontransverse of said rodlike member, said portion being apertured, saidrodlike member passing through said aperture, said double-actinglost-motion connection comprising a pair of spaced abutments on saidrodlike member on opposite sides of said transverse portion.

7 Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the seat has an upwardly actingspring and said tension member is connected to the upper end of saidspring.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said tension member is acable.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said tension lostmotionconnection comprises a portion of said connector element transverse ofsaid tension member, an aperture in said portion, said tension memberextending through said aperture and having abutment means engaging theside of said trans verse portion remote from the seat.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a housing enclosing saidconnector element, said tension lost-motion connection, said counter andits input means, and said further connection.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said counter device has adial and the housing is formed with an aperture in registry with saidcounter device dial, there being a cover for said dial aperture hingedto said housing, and means for releasably locking said cover in closedposition.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said housing includes abottom portion and a cover portion, said dial aperture being formed insaid cover portion, and separate locking means for securing said coverportion to said bottom portion.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said bottom portion includesa bottom wall and an upstanding transverse end wall, said end wall beingapertured to permit the passage therethrough of said tension member,structure secured to comprises a tab rotatable in a transverse planeinwardly of said cover portion end wall. said bottom portion having atransverse surface between said tab and said cover portion end wallselectively engageable with said tab by manual actuation of said lock.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said dial aperture covercomprises a flap on said cover portion end wall.

It I! t I!

1. Apparatus for counting successive occupants of a seat comprising atension member relieved of tension responsive to occupancy of the seatand placed in tension responsive to vacating of the seat, a connectorelement, a lost-motion tension connection between said member and saidelement, a counter device, input means on said counter device causingone-half count per input movement in each direction, a furtherconnection between said input means and said connector element, springmeans biasing said connector element into tensile relation with saidfirst named lost-motion connection, but being of insufficient strengthto overcome tension applied to said tension element by the seat, wherebywhen the seat becomes occupied, said spring means moves said connectorelement, which causes movement of said further connection to move saidcounter device input means in the same direction to register one-halfcount on said counter device, and when the seat becomes vacated saidtension element is placed in tension, causing said tension lost motionconnection to become operative to move said connector element in theopposite direction, which causes movement of said device input means inthe same opposite direction and thereby register another one-half counton said counter device.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 includingmeans for slowing operation of said connector element in both directionswhereby to make its movements nonresponsive to the application oftension to and removal of tension from said tension member when saidseat is occupied only temporarily.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2wherein said slowing means comprises a cylinder, a piston therein, meansconnecting said piston to said connector element, fluid in said cylinderon both sides of said piston, and reduced diameter passage meansconnecting the portions of said cylinder on opposite sides of saidpiston.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said passage meanscontains valve means for manually regulating its size whereby to controlprecisely the rate of movement of said piston.
 5. Apparatus according toclaim 2 wherein said further connection between said connector elementand said counter device input means includes a double-acting lost-motionconnection whereby only the end portions of movements of said connectorelement are transmitted by said further connection to said input means.6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said further connection is arodlike member elongated in the same direction as that of the movementof said connector element and said connector element has a portiontransverse of said rodlike member, said portion being apertured, saidrodlike member passing through said aperture, said double-actinglost-motion connection comprising a pair of spaced abutments on saidrodlike member on opposite sides of said transverse portion. 7 Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the seat has an upwardly acting spring andsaid tension membeR is connected to the upper end of said spring. 8.Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said tension member is a cable.9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said tension lost-motionconnection comprises a portion of said connector element transverse ofsaid tension member, an aperture in said portion, said tension memberextending through said aperture and having abutment means engaging theside of said transverse portion remote from the seat.
 10. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 including a housing enclosing said connectorelement, said tension lost-motion connection, said counter and its inputmeans, and said further connection.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10wherein said counter device has a dial and the housing is formed with anaperture in registry with said counter device dial, there being a coverfor said dial aperture hinged to said housing, and means for releasablylocking said cover in closed position.
 12. Apparatus according to claim10 wherein said housing includes a bottom portion and a cover portion,said dial aperture being formed in said cover portion, and separatelocking means for securing said cover portion to said bottom portion.13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said bottom portion includesa bottom wall and an upstanding transverse end wall, said end wall beingapertured to permit the passage therethrough of said tension member,structure secured to said bottom wall anchoring said spring meansthereto, and means supporting said counter device from said bottom wallnear the end of said bottom wall remote from said end wall. 14.Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said cover portion includes atop wall and an end wall remote from said bottom portion end wall, saiddial aperture being formed in said cover portion end wall.
 15. Apparatusaccording to claim 14 wherein said cover portion lock is mounted in saidcover portion end wall and comprises a tab rotatable in a transverseplane inwardly of said cover portion end wall, said bottom portionhaving a transverse surface between said tab and said cover portion endwall selectively engageable with said tab by manual actuation of saidlock.
 16. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said dial aperturecover comprises a flap on said cover portion end wall.